


would you mean this please (if it happens)

by padfootprophet



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-11
Updated: 2014-09-11
Packaged: 2018-02-17 00:17:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2289989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/padfootprophet/pseuds/padfootprophet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Jon signed up to be a student warden he didn't expect to spend so much of his time dealing with a singular cat and its owner. As it turns out he really doesn't mind.</p>
            </blockquote>





	would you mean this please (if it happens)

Jon opened the door with a slight sigh. It had been a long day, it had been an even longer week. He silently cursed Sam for ever suggesting he put himself up for accommodation warden as he focused on the girl stood in front of him with a sheepish grin and a cardboard box.

"Hi," she said, "Um, I was hoping you could help me?"

Jon nodded, mildly suspicious of the box the girl was holding. It had only been a week but he was starting to learn that if someone asked him for help with a box it was rarely something as simple as textbooks inside.

The box meowed.

Jon rubbed his hand across his face, "There's a cat in that box isn't there?"

The girl chewed on her lip for a moment as the box - or the cat inside the box - gave another small meow. She winced. "Ok, yes, there's a cat in the box. And it's going to be in my dorm room."

"You realise that's against the rules right."

"Well, yes, but it needed a home! You should see it, in fact…" she slowly opened the box and pushed it towards Jon. A small kitten peered up at him and mewed. Jon felt himself melt slightly. Then the box was moved back, "I promise he won't tear up the furniture but my brother's cat just had kittens and he can't keep them all in his flat-"

"You can't keep it here!" Jon interrupted.

The girl continued as if he hadn't said anything, "So I said I'd take one and I figured if I told you maybe you could let me know when there's going to be any inspections. Cause then I can move him out of my room and I won't get into trouble with the university and he won't have to go to a shelter."

Jon slumped against the door frame with a sigh. He should really say no. Except he just wanted to take a nap and it seemed like there was a quick way out. "Ok," he said, "Fine. Give me your name and room number and I'll try and let you know. But I accept no responsibility for this."

The girl grinned and held out her hand, "I'm Alys. Alys Karstark from C19."

_ _ _

Jon ran to the bus stop, hunched over to protect his books, and cursed himself for not picking up his umbrella or at least a coat. Sure it had been sunny this morning but autumn was setting in and he should have known the weather could change at any moment.

Even the short run between the library and the bus stop left his clothes sticking uncomfortably as the rain seeped through to his skin. He sighed and clutched the book bag closer, hoping he could stop the contents from being completely ruined - he really didn't need a fine for damaging the books beyond repair.

And then there was relief from the downpour.

"Someone wasn't prepared today. Did you not check the forecast? Heavy rain all afternoon!"

Jon straightened up and turned to come face to face with Alys. "Thanks," he said quickly before realising that he was in fact very close to her and he couldn't move away without stepping into the rain, which would be a really bad idea. Except that he was very aware he could feel her gentle puffs of breath against his chin. "Um, hi," he said.

Alys grinned, "Hi." She turned to face the road, watching for the bus, and began humming to herself. Just as Jon was about to look away she stopped and turned back to him, "Thanks for the warning last week by the way. We've managed to keep Stormy from eviction for a while longer."

Jon blinked, "Stormy?"

"The cat."

"Ok, but _Stormy?_ "

Alys laughed, and Jon found himself smiling at the sound, then she said, "When the kittens were about a week old there was a really bad storm and apparently they were all terrified except for Stormy." She paused for a moment, "It's an awful name. I suggested Taranis, but was told to 'take my fancy-ass mythology degree and leave'. So now he's Stormy."

"I like Taranis."

"That's because you have taste," Alys said, smiling, "But Stormy stuck."

_ _ _

"You're late," Pyp observed as Jon slumped into a seat at their booth.

"I would have been on time except two guys in D block got into a huge fight and I was the only one around to deal with it," Jon replied rubbing his forehead. It had been a nightmare.

Pyp winced, "Ouch, Ok, I'm getting you a drink. Sounds like you need one."

"So what happened to them?" Sam asked.

"When I left one had been taken to hospital and the other had moved into an empty room in B block. I'm just hoping they'll leave it alone now they're in different buildings. Honestly Sam, I can't believe you convinced me to do this."

"Hey," Grenn said, "You're getting free accommodation and extra pay on top. Don't knock it."

"And you _are_ good at this, Jon," Sam added, "I hear Queensgate and Sable Hall have had to get the police in already."

Pyp returned handing a pint of beer to Jon before sliding back into the booth, "Oh yeah, I heard Queensgate had a drugs bust."

Jon shook his head, "They didn't find anything really, the guy only had enough weed for recreational use. And trust me there's still time for a police incident at Castle yet."

The conversation turned to Pyp and Grenn's new housemate, to the heavy work load that was already starting to pile up, to Sam's inability to flirt with the girl he liked, before conversation got back round to Jon's life again.

"Oh, Jon," Pyp said, still smiling about Sam's awkward recounting of his interactions with Gilly, "I saw you with a girl the other day. Looked pretty personal."

Jon blinked, "What?" He tried to think about what Pyp could be talking about and came up blank.

"I happened to look out of the library window at you flirting with some girl under an umbrella," Pyp prompted.

"Alys," Jon realised. He hadn't thought that interaction had been noted.

"Alys, huh?" Grenn asked, "How come you haven't told us about her?"

"There's nothing to tell," Jon said. He received disbelieving looks, "Really. She's one of the students I warden for and she helped me out when I forgot to prepare for the weather."

"There's keeping dry and then there's using the rain as an excuse to get cosy," Pyp said.

Jon shook his head, "Trust me, there's nothing happening there." At least he didn't _think_ there was. But he couldn't help remembering the way she had smiled at him and the faint smell of mint that had filled the space between them when she'd laughed.

_ _ _

Jon looked up from his work with a frown. There was a faint noise that sounded almost like someone was outside his door. Had he been so absorbed in his work he'd missed someone knocking? He put down the pen and went to look through the peephole to find no-one there. He moved away again, intent on returning to his work when he heard a faint scratching noise.

Wondering if there was something going on outside he opened the door only to see a familiar cat sat in front of his door. That explained the scratching at least.

Stormy ran past Jon's legs and straight into his room.

Jon followed to find the cat curling up on his chair, seemingly content to stay there. He watched for a minute before grabbing a spare piece of paper and hastily writing the note:

_Your cat is in my flat. Please come and fetch him - Jon S_

He then checked the windows were shut so that Stormy wouldn't escape again and grabbed the keys which would allow him into building C.

Leaving the warden's flat to go to the main accommodation in Castle always felt like madness to Jon. The communal areas were loud and messy and every time he went near them someone would complain about something that it wasn't actually his job to fix.

C block was loud and covered in decorations. Apparently it was someone's birthday and the entire building had been decked out to celebrate. He barely made it through the door before someone was pulling him to one side and asking, "You here for Val's birthday?"

"Uh, no," Jon replied, pulling away to get to the staircase, "Sorry, official business."

The boy who'd pulled him aside looked at him for a moment before realisation hit him, "You're the warden, Jon, right?" He looked around awkwardly, "Uh, we're not in trouble for the noise are we?"

There was a genuine look of fear on his face until Jon said, "No. As long as you're quiet by eleven."

"Oh, good." He stared at Jon for a moment more before turning back to the party. Jon escaped up the stairs to the third floor where the sounds of the party became muffled. He quickly made his way to room 19 and knocked on the door. When there was no reply he slipped the note under the door and turned to leave again.

He hoped Alys would get the message soon because he did not have the facilities to look after a cat.

_ _ _

A few hours passed before a very distressed Alys turned up at his flat. She started talking as soon as he opened the door. "I know this is a long shot but have you seen Stormy? He disappeared whilst I was at a lecture this morning and I've been searching for him all afternoon." She bit her lip, and Jon could see she was shaking slightly.

"You haven't been to your room this afternoon have you?" Jon asked.

"No, why?"

"Because I posted a note there a few hours ago," Jon opened the door fully and motioned for Alys to follow him. Stormy was still sound asleep on Jon's desk chair, where he had been all afternoon. "He turned up a while back so I made sure the place was secure and tried to find you."

Alys burst into a grin and grabbed Jon around the middle pulling him into a hug, she mumbled a series of 'thank you's into his shirt and then let go to sink to the floor in front of Jon's chair. Jon stood, mildly shocked as Alys gently shifted Stormy from the chair into her arms. The cat woke up and squirmed slightly before settling against her.

"Seriously Jon, thank you so much for looking after him," Alys said, still grinning widely, "You're amazing."

Jon could feel himself blushing slightly under the praise and wished he wasn't so flustered. "What was I meant to do," he replied, "Throw him out on the street? I was just being a decent person."

Alys stood for a moment before walking towards Jon. She leant up and kissed him on the cheek, "Still pretty great," she said, a smaller smile playing across her lips. She looked down at the cat in her arms, who looked half asleep, "We're both grateful."

She looked up at Jon again and he blushed harder as she looked him right in the eyes before moving past him and out of the flat again.

_ _ _

The fire alarm went off in the warden's flat first. Jon turned on his phone screen quickly to see it was just after half four in the morning. For a second he considered putting the pillow over his head and trying to sleep through it. Except it was really loud. And if he ignored fire drills he'd probably get into trouble. So he flipped on the light and dug out a warm coat and a pair of boots before grabbing his keys and heading to the courtyard.

He watched as the other wardens stumbled wearily out of the flat and nodded to Edd as he came to stand by Jon. Neither of them spoke as the fire alarms started going off in the other blocks. Soon the courtyard was filling with students muttering about how ridiculous fire drills were.

"Well at least it's not raining," Jon said to Edd at one point.

Edd stared at him, "Don't say that. It'll bloody well start raining now just out of spite." He shook his head and moved off leaving Jon to watch the students alone.

He wasn't overly surprised when Alys came over to him, looking surprisingly cheerful considering it was nearly five am and she wasn't even wearing a coat.

"Where's Stormy?" He asked, surprised she hadn't smuggled him out.

Alys took in Jon's sombre expression and began to look worried, "He's in my room. I figured this was a drill. This is a drill, right?"

Jon nodded, "Yeah, there doesn't tend to be fires in the middle of the night in October. It's normally cold and wet. We're lucky it's only one of those tonight."

"I'll say, it's absolutely freezing out here," Alys said, rubbing her bare arms. She wasn't the only one without a coat but she was certainly in the minority.

"Here," Jon said, as the fire safety guy tripped the alarm on the final block. He pulled off his coat and draped it over her shoulders.

Alys looked across at Jon whose torso was only covered in a light t-shirt and raised an eyebrow. "Now you'll get cold."

Jon shrugged, "I'm used to the cold. You were shaking."

Alys shook her head, "You don't need to act tough on my behalf." She lifted the coat off again and slung it back over his shoulders before moving in close.

"What are you doing?" Jon said, but Alys just glared at him and shuffled closer, wrapping her arms around his chest.

"We can share warmth," she said quietly. The coat slipped slightly and Jon pulled it tight across his back and then wrapped it around Alys as well so it acted like a blanket. "See. Now we're both warm."

Jon was definitely feeling warm, he just wasn't sure it was anything to do with the coat - in fact he was fairly sure it _wasn't_. They stayed huddled together whilst the man from the fire safety department gave his speech, which Jon hardly heard. He only realised it had finished when the other students started moving away and he reluctantly stepped back from Alys.

He felt slightly awkward but she just smiled at him, said, "Thanks for sharing your coat, Jon," and gave a small wave as she headed back inside.

_ _ _

Jon stood in Sam's kitchen drinking a bottle of beer as Sam made them both some pasta. He wasn't sure letting Sam cook was a good idea after he literally set fire to their oven the previous year but he figured pasta had to be pretty hard to screw up that badly. And the ovens in the university accommodation had been appalling.

"I have a problem, Sam," Jon said, leaning against the counter.

"What sort of problem?" Sam said, staring intently at the pot.

"There's this girl-"

Sam looked up sharply, "I'm not sure girl problems is my area of expertise. Shouldn't you talk to Pyp or someone? Literally anyone but me?"

Jon shook his head, "Pyp would just laugh at me and tell me to just ask her out. Like he does with you and Gilly."

Sam returned to watching the pasta, slowly stirring it, "You're not like me though, Jon. You're-" he gesture vaguely in Jon's direction, "You're _you_. Girls like you." He tested a piece of pasta and nodded to himself. "Grab a couple of bowls," he said, turning off the stove.

It wasn't until they had almost finished their dinner that Sam said, "So tell me about her. What's her name?"

"Alys," Jon replied, "She's… nice."

Sam frowned for a moment, then remembered, "Alys, the umbrella girl?"

"Yes," Jon said.

"And she's nice?"

"Yes."

"You really are bad at this."

"Oh shut up," Jon said, flicking a bit of bread at Sam, "I remember you trying to talk about Gilly. I'm pretty sure all we got was 'she's, you know, a girl'."

Sam held his hands up, "Alright, so neither of us are any good at talking about girls."

"We're not very good at talking to them either." Jon sighed.

"Well from what I hear you were flirting with Alys."

"I wasn't flirting with her!" Jon said, but he thought back to their talks and how he'd wanted to hear her laugh and tried to make her smile and conceded, "At least I don't think so. I don't exactly have a lot of experience."

Sam laughed, then raised his beer and said, "Here's to being hopeless at love."

Jon lifted his own bottle with a smile, "I'll drink to that."

_ _ _

Jon was already running late for his lecture, having completely overslept, when he found Stormy outside his door again. With a sigh he chased the cat inside and said, "You're just going to have to stay put for a couple of hours. I'll get Alys when I get back from my lecture."

Stormy just stretched out into a patch of sunshine in the hallway, seemingly already asleep. Jon shut the door and hoped the buses were running on time or he was really going to be screwed.

He managed to only arrive ten minutes late for his lecture, his lecturer spared him a glance as he snagged a seat at the back of the room but other than that made no comment. Jon kept his head down for the rest of the hour, grumbled slightly with the other students at the essay they were set and decided to go straight to the library to at least start on some of the reading he had to do.

It was only when he was leaving the library, and trying not to think about Alys, that he remembered her cat was once again taking residence in his room. And considering how distraught she'd been last time he decided to hurry.

Alys was sat in the courtyard by the warden's flat reading a book, she must have heard his footsteps just as he caught sight of her because she looked up and waved.

"Stormy's missing," she said by way of greeting, "I thought he might turn up here again. I tried knocking but no-one was in, so I figured I'd wait for you. I'm not just waiting around your front door like some creep."

Jon offered her a hand to help her up, "Are you sure you're not some crazy stalker?" He joked. She gave a short laugh as she pulled herself up, holding onto Jon's hand a second before letting go. He tried to act like he hadn't noticed. "Your cat turned up as I was about to go to lectures. I figured I'd let him in until I could find you."

Jon opened the door and let Alys walk in first. She peered into Jon's room quietly calling Stormy's name. A noise came from the kitchen.

Alys and Jon exchanged a look before moving towards the kitchen door. Jon pushed it open to find Edd sat at the table eating a sandwich whilst Stormy tried to eat his shoelace. Jon rushed forward apologising and gently pulled Stormy away. He latched onto a shoelace and tried to grip the kitchen floor but in the end Jon managed to get him up and securely in his arms.

"I didn't know you had a cat, Jon," Edd said.

"Oh, it's not mine." Jon turned to Alys and handed the cat to her.

"Yeah, sorry. It's my cat. He keeps running away," Alys said, waving at Edd. Then she turned to Jon, "Thank you again Jon, he seems to have really taken a liking to you." Then without another word she left the kitchen and Jon heard the flat door open and close.

"I think the cat scratched my leg," Edd muttered, "You don't think it's diseased do you?"

_ _ _

The week of Halloween saw multiple parties every night among the students, with different bars and clubs holding a whole heap of events to try and draw in more customers. Jon saw none of them on the basis that: a - he had two essays due the following Monday, and b - every time he even considered relaxing there would be some disaster that needed a warden.

But Sam had begged him to go out to the pub on Friday - actual Halloween night - and he'd guilted Edd into looking after Castle alone for one night, so he'd put together a costume and set his essays aside.

"Jon, could you not do better than Harry Potter?" Pyp complained when he approached their usual booth at the pub. Pyp had been dared to dress as Robin - short shorts and all - and had agreed so long as Grenn went as Batman. The two actually looked fairly impressive. And absolutely hilarious.

Jon couldn't help laughing but he managed to reply, "Not with the week I've been having. It's a nightmare."

"It is Halloween," Sam commented, itching absentmindedly at some of the face paint that made up his Frankenstein's monster costume, "Nightmares are appropriate."

"What about getting completely drunk and doing something stupid which lands you in hospital? It doesn't feel appropriate."

"I don't know," Pyp said with a smile, "Seems pretty 'teenager in a horror movie' to me."

Jon just shook his head and went to get himself a drink.

He just managed to get served when some tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Hey there, Harry Potter."

Jon picked up his drink and turned around to find Alys, grinning as usual with a drink in her own hand. Then he looked at her costume, which matched his right down to the fake glasses and scar. He couldn't help but laugh, "Great minds think alike, huh," he said.

"I don't know, I think one of is going to have to go back home and change."

Jon shook his head, "I can't go back there Alys. If I have to deal with one more drunken idiot I will break down."

"Yeah, I heard about Orell falling out the window."

"Jumping. He thought he could fly."

Alys reached out and patted him on the arm, "Well, I promise I will drink only in moderation and not be the cause of you finally going insane."

Jon sighed, "If you could get everyone else to agree to that it would be great." They stood together awkwardly for a moment and then Jon said, "You know you don't have to talk to me, you can go back to your friends. I'm sure mine are missing me."

Alys faked surprise, "You have other friends? Why are you keeping them from me? Are they embarrassing?"

Jon would have laughed except that the idea of introducing Alys to his friends made him want to leave very quickly, so he shrugged and said, "One of them _is_ dressed in a surprisingly accurate Robin outfit."

Alys' eyes widened, "Batman and Robin are your friends? Now you have to let me meet them. If you don't I'll just go and introduce myself."

Jon was fairly sure he was going to regret his actions but he found himself relenting and leading Alys over to Sam, Pyp, and Grenn. From the whispered exchange going on at the table Jon was fairly sure he was going to regret his actions very quickly.

_ _ _

Jon was catching up on some reading when Stormy jumped onto his lap and started head butting him. With a sigh he gave in and scratched the cat behind his ears. He'd caught Alys as she was leaving for the library and she'd said she'd swing by to pick him up in a couple of hours. This left Jon with a cat who was apparently not in the mood to be ignored until that time.

When there was a knock on the door Jon felt relieved that he might actually be able to get some work done without a cat climbing over his books. He lifted Stormy onto the bed and went to open the door, except it wasn't Alys.

"Robb?" Jon said.

Robb looked at him for a moment and then said, "Let me guess, you got really caught up in work and forgot I was coming to stay for the weekend?"

Jon nodded. He did remember talking to Robb about coming to stay but the dates had totally slipped his mind, "That was this weekend then?"

Robb just rolled his eyes and walked past Jon, carrying his bag and dropping it into Jon's room. He glanced around and paused. "Hey Jon, when did you get a cat?" He held out a hand to Stormy who sniffed it cautiously before rubbing against it happily.

"It's not my cat," Jon said, moving around the room in an attempt to vaguely tidy it, "It's this girl's, I'm just looking after it."

"Oh?"

"Don't you start," Jon grumbled.

"I'm just curious."

"I'm just looking after her cat."

Robb laughed, "You've got to be less obvious, bro." Jon glared at him but he ignored it and turned back to the cat.

There was a knock at the door and Jon tried not to flinch. This time it was Alys stood outside. "I believe you have my cat," she said, slipping past Jon and into the flat. He nodded, silently wishing than Robb had been a little later or Alys a little earlier.

They got to Jon's room to find Robb sat on the bed with a content cat curled up on his lap. Alys looked at Jon, "You have more friends?"

Robb laughed, "Actually I'm a brother," he held out his hand, "Robb."

"Alys," she replied, shaking his hand, "Friend of Jon's, owner of the cat."

Robb picked Stormy of his lap and offered him to Alys, who took him and then turned to leave, "Thank you boys," she said on her way out the door.

"Hey Alys," Robb called out as she was about to leave the flat. He moved so he could lean against the doorframe to Jon's room, "Jon probably forgot to mention because he forgot what weekend it is, but we're having a party tonight. You'll come?"

"Sure," Alys replied grinning.

"Cool, come over around eight alright?"

She nodded and then walked out the flat, letting the door shut behind her. Jon stared at Robb.

"You're welcome," Robb said before ducking back into the room.

_ _ _

Jon was really wishing he'd remembered when Robb was coming, as it was Robb had taken it upon himself to organise a party, which had expanded from Jon's regular group of friends to almost everyone that Jon knew. At least that was how it seemed when they were all packed in to the small kitchen that they'd provided for the four wardens. Edd had entered the room once and then retreated and Jon found himself wishing he could do the same.

Sam managed to fight through the crowd of people to where Jon was standing with two beers in his hands. He passed one to Jon who took it and swallowed a mouthful, "Thank you for fighting through this to keep me from sobering up, Sam," Jon said.

Sam shrugged, "What are friends for, if they don't get friends drinks? Or tell them that their brother is talking to their crush?"

Jon almost choked on the beer, and spluttered, "Robb's talking to Alys?"

Sam nodded, "They're out in the corridor."

Jon swore under his breath, thanked Sam and then pushed his way out the corridor where sure enough Robb and Alys were laughing about something. Robb caught sight of him and waved him over, "Jon! We were just talking about you."

Jon grimaced, "That sounds awful," he turned to Alys, "Please don't listen to him."

Alys laughed lightly and reached for Jon's hand, "Don't worry, it's all good things," she said, squeezing his hand gently before letting go.

Jon wasn't convinced but Robb mouthed 'trust me' before holding up his empty beer bottle, "Well, I need a refill, either of you want a drink."

Jon held up his bottle, which was mostly full, and said, "I'm good." Alys shook her head and Robb moved away. Jon slumped against the wall next to Alys and asked, "Are you sure he wasn't telling you embarrassing stories?"

"He was telling me about how you broke your arm," She replied. Jon groaned, but Alys nudged him, "Hey, I think it was sweet that you were concerned about your little brother."

"Did he skim over the part where Bran was completely fine and it turned out I broke my arm for nothing."

She smiled, "It's still sweet."

_ _ _

Jon was fairly sure that if they hadn't been there Sam would have worked himself into a nervous breakdown and cancelled his date with Gilly. Luckily he'd said something to Grenn who had called Pyp and Jon and they'd all turned up at this flat to calm him down.

"Just relax," Grenn said, after Sam contemplated changing his outfit for the fifth time, "You're taking her to the cinema not a ball. You look fine."

Sam grimaced and turned to face Jon, who said, "Don't look at me, I'm with Grenn on this one."

Finally he looked at Pyp, who grabbed him and pulled him down onto the sofa. "Sam, you like her and she likes you," he said, "You'll be fine."

"We could take your mind off it by asking Jon when he's going to get a date," Grenn said, smiling in Jon's direction.

"Yeah," Pyp caught on, "Let's talk about _Alys_."

Sam actually laughed slightly, then said, "Sorry Jon, but it looks like it's your turn now."

Jon dropped his head into his hands and refused to look at them.

"Come on, Jon," Grenn said, "Sam managed to ask a girl out. Got any tips?"

"Blurting it out after a few too many beers worked for me. I should probably thank Robb for that one."

"Well that party's already passed," Pyp said, "Although I do recall you spending a lot of time with Alys that night. Maybe you did make a move but you were both too drunk to remember."

"We just talked, Pyp," Jon muttered.

"Hey, he's blushing. Tell us Jon, is it love?"

"I hate you so much."

Pyp looked like he was about to say something more when Sam's phone went off and he nearly jumped out of his seat, clearly still on edge. He answered the phone though and a moment later said, "The taxi's outside. I guess I better go."

The other boys got up to go with him and Pyp and Grenn gave him a slap on the back each, wishing him luck. Jon pulled him into a proper hug and said, "Just be yourself Sam, you're one of the best people I know."

Sam smiled at him and then turned to the others, "Don't be to mean to Jon about his inability to ask a girl out. Some people just don't have what it takes." Then he left with a wave to climb into the taxi.

"I can't believe Sam's making fun of me," Jon muttered.

"Well he is your best friend," Grenn said, "And he _is_ about to go on a date with the girl he was fawning over for ages."

"Yeah, I guess he is."

_ _ _

Jon was surprised to see Stormy sat on the kitchen table whilst Edd was making himself some food.

"I hope you don't mind," Edd said, "He was sat outside and I figured you would have let him in."

"Oh, that's fine. How long as he been here?"

Edd shrugged, "About an hour."

Jon wondered if he should go and find Alys or if she would come and find him. Deciding that he should probably at least try to find her he picked up the cat and shut it into his room before opening the door and stepping out into the courtyard only to find Alys walking towards him.

"Cat?" she said by way of greeting.

He nodded, and turned to let himself back in the flat, "Edd found him and let him in a while ago. I just got back from the library and was about to come and find you."

They moved through to Jon's room where Stormy was happily running in circles around one of Jon's shoes and pouncing on its shoelaces. Alys laughed at the sight. "It seems a shame to stop him when he's enjoying himself," she said.

"True. But it would also be a shame if I ran out of wearable shoes because he ate all the laces," Jon replied.

Alys looked at him for a moment and then leant to scoop Stormy up from the ground. He struggled against her and then leapt from her arms back onto the floor, "Well he doesn't want to go home yet."

"I suppose we could wait him out, he's bound to get tired at some point," Jon said. Alys smiled and sat down on the bed, pulling at Jon's arm until he sat down next to her. She kept her hand on his arm though, he could feel the slight cold from where she'd been outside even through the jumper he was wearing.

"You ever wonder if I let him escape," Alys asked, suddenly.

Jon frowned. "No. Why would you let your cat escape?"

"Well to start with it was an accident but when I realised he had a kind of homing missile on your flat," she paused. Her hand shifted against Jon's arm, as though she tensed slightly and then relaxed, "I guess I used it as an excuse to see you."

Alys looked down as Jon found himself staring at her, she glanced over and bit her lip, meeting his eyes for a moment before turning away again. Jon decided to throw caution to the wind and gently cupped her face, turning her back towards him, so he could lean forward and kiss her.

He pulled back quickly, worried that he had made a mistake, that he'd misinterpreted what she was saying but she just smiled at him. "Took you long enough," she said.

"Hey, you could have said something."

She laughed, "I think I just did."

Jon kissed her again.

 

* * *

 

A lot of what happens in this story is taken from mine and my friends' time at university. Stormy is 100% based on my brother's cat. Taranis is a thunder god from Celtic mythology. The title is from the song If You Don't, Don't by Jimmy Eat World.

This story got written as a product of me finishing ADWD and being seriously not ok, I figured total denial and adorable AUs would cheer me up and here we are. I used a bunch of cute AU ideas from tumblr to write this, so: [credit](http://textsfromtitanfood.tumblr.com/post/96672784247/consider-the-following-aus-we-wore-matching) [where](http://puppetamateur.tumblr.com/post/93292699757/okay-but-consider-these-oh-my-god-im-so-sorry-my) [due](http://authorkurikuri.tumblr.com/post/77213057746/au-ideas)


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